The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional application 60/196,720 filed on Apr. 13, 2000 and U.S. provisional application 60/226,130 filed Aug. 18, 2000. This application relates to an apparatus and method for the measurement and monitoring of electric power generation and transmission associated with one or more power generating plants. Tile entire disclosures contained in U.S. provisional applications 60/196,720 and 60/226,130, including the attachments thereto, are incorporated herein by this reference.
Various apparatus and methods currently exist for measuring and monitoring the amount of electric power generated by any particular electric power generation facility connected to an electric power transmission grid. Common apparatus and methods are also available for measuring and monitoring the amount of electric power flowing over any particular transmission line. Specifically, most electric power plant operators employ a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to monitor their electric power generation and transmission systems. Each substation connected to the transmission grid is equipped with several potential transformers (PT) and current transformers (CT) to measure the voltage, current, and electric power flow on each line and bus. The PT and CT data is monitored in real time and transmitted back to a central computer from each substation through a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) using various wired and wireless communication methods. Such data is compiled to provide the electric power plant operators with accurate and up-to-date generation and transmission data.
Of course, implementation of these methods requires proximate access to the physical facilities associated with the generation and transmission of electric power. The owner or manager of these physical facilities is able to control or limit proximate access to said facilities, and thus is able to prevent any particular party that employs current technology from directly measuring and monitoring either the amount of electric power flowing over a particular transmission line or the amount of electric power being generated by a particular electric power generation facility. Information about electric transmission line flows and electric power generation facility output is useful and valuable for companies engaged in the business of buying and selling electricity on the open market, and power plant operators currently do not release this information to other participants in the market.
It is thus a paramount object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for the measurement and monitoring of electric power generation and transmission associated with a plurality of power generation plants without necessity of proximate access to the physical facilities associated with the generation and transmission of electric power.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method that is capable of ascertaining both the amount and direction of electric power flowing over transmission lines and the amount of electric power generated by any electric power generation plant connected to those lines without necessity of proximate access to the physical facilities associated with the generation and transmission of electric power.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon a reading of the following description.
The present invention is an apparatus and method for the measurement and monitoring of electric power generation and transmission associated with one or more power generating plants. Specifically, the apparatus and method of the present invention allows for a determination of the amount and direction of electric power flowing over a particular high-voltage electric power transmission line, allows for a determination of the real and reactive components of the electric power, and further allows for a determination of the amount of electric power being produced by any particular electric power generation plant connected to an electric power transmission grid.
The apparatus of the present invention is comprised primarily of one or more monitoring devices that collect the information necessary to determine the electric power flow on any particular transmission line being monitored. Specifically, a monitoring device in accordance with the present invention is installed in a fixed location near a high-voltage electric power transmission line. During the installation process, appropriate measurements are made to establish the spatial relationship between the monitoring device and the multiple phase conductors of the transmission line. The monitoring device is primarily comprised of sensing elements responsive to the electric potential and the magnetic flux densities associated with the transmission line, therefore allowing for periodic or continuous measurements of the electric potential and magnetic flux densities associated with the transmission line.
The method of the present invention relates not only to the collection of information, but also the transmission and processing of the collected information. Specifically, the method of the present invention contemplates discreet or continuous data transmissions of collected information from remote monitoring devices, each of which monitors a particular transmission line or lines, to a central processing facility where a computational analysis is conducted to calculate the amount and direction of both real and reactive electric power flowing on each monitored set of transmission lines. The resulting power data can be further analyzed and compiled to determine the net electric power output of any electric power generating facility connected to the monitored transmission lines.